This invention relates to a method for the surgical retrieval of retained common bile duct stones. This invention also relates to an instrument assembly utilizable in performing the method.
A common affliction, particularly among older people, is gall stones, i.e., small stones formed from natural biological processes from chemical substances in the bile. These stones sit in the gall bladder and are frequently removed during a cholecystectomy. In a cholecystectomy, the cystic duct is clamped and severed and the gall bladder is removed, thereby removing any stones in the bladder. However, some stones are frequently retained in the common bile duct.
Currently, the stones in the common bile duct are retrieved using a DORMIA type retrieval basket. That instrument includes a series of wires of spring biased construction which are connected to form an ovoidal or football shaped cage upon the release of the basket from the distal end of a tubular member.
The distal end of the tubular member is inserted through the Ampulla of Vater at one end of the common bile duct or, alternatively, through a bile duct over the liver. The DORMIA type retrieval basket may also be inserted through a tubular prosthesis or bridge extending from the abdominal wall to the wall of the common bile duct where the bridging member is inserted into the duct.
A DORMIA type retrieval basket is difficult to manipulate in order to capture retained common bile duct stones. Such operations can take hours for an essentially simple task. The task is made even more difficult and time consuming if several stones are to be retrieved from the duct.